Standard Chartered Open 2014 kicks off local golfing calendar

Wednesday, 29 January 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Standard Chartered Open 2014 will once more bring a professional golf event sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) to Sri Lanka to be held at the Royal Colombo Golf Club. The four day tournament scheduled from the 6 to 9 February 2014 will field over 100 professional golfers who will compete for the prize of USD 50,000. Standard Chartered Open 2012 winner Mithun Perera and Indian golfing stars Shiv Kapur and Anirban Lahiri will once more grace the event.

Standard Chartered Chief Executive Officer Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, an avid golfer himself, commenting on the bank’s title sponsorship said: “The Standard Chartered Open is a reiteration of our support to highlighting Sri Lanka as a destination of choice for golfers. Not only will local players have the opportunity to compete against the best of the PGTI tour but also the exposure to international players will help improve techniques and standards. This year too we would be delighted if we do see a local winner as we did in 2012.” Standard Chartered’s title sponsorship of the Standard Chartered Open 2014 affords local players the opportunity to showcase their talent at an international event. The PGTI has proved a springboard for the development of golf in India and provided opportunities for Indian professionals to compete at higher levels. The Standard Chartered Open 2014 is being co-promoted by Pro Golf Ltd., a Colombo based golf marketing and product distribution company and Sports Mantra, a Delhi based sports marketing and events company. Pro Golf Managing Director Chandana Weerasinghe speaking of the event said: “Standard Chartered open 2014 is a 71 hole stroke play competition with a field of up to 120 professional players and 6 amateur players. It will be an exciting four days of golf and already there is much enthusiasm and anticipation of the event. The refurbished greens of the RCGC will provide excellent challenges to the competitors with its par 71 course and beautifully landscaped fairway.” He also added, “The generous support of Standard Chartered for golf in Sri Lanka will definitely take the game to a different level and will help local talent to improve their careers – which is much needed support in Sri Lanka.”